Wasted away on the beach today; love the feeling of cool sand between the toes. Perfect day to photograph this little throw quilt that has finally used up the last of my (hard to find) Sarah Jane’s “Out to Sea” fabric line. Pirates and treasure maps and booty. Adventurous “newspaper hat pirates” plotting to find a chest full of treasure.
2015. Hmmm. . . It started with snow. A lot. We played rustic in a tiny cabin. In more snow. 🙂 My family was healthy. George retired. Summer was idyllic. I learned how to preserve blueberries. Concerned about cut-backs at work, I promoted an online shop featuring quilts and assorted vintage collectibles. Even with some fantastically hectic days, I was able to fulfill holiday orders on time. I acquired a new past-time; walking through a nearby maritime forest, which has proven to be quite restorative from the weekday rush. All in all, it was a good year. . . And it ended with humid, 80°F (27°C) weather. The botanicals are very confused.
My 2015 year in photo review:
Crabtree Falls, Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia
George, Phoebe Darling and I hiked the Bald Cypress Trail in First Landing State Park during the quiet wee hours of a recent Saturday morning.
This trail lies inside an old maritime forest full of bald cypress swamps, lagoons, rare plants and wildlife. The Smithsonian Marine Station defines maritime forests as “narrow bands of forest that develop almost exclusively on stabilized back dunes of barrier islands, inland of primary dunes and scrub.” Maritime forests occur along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Well. Here is my humble contribution to the ALS Association’s Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge. I chose the friendship star block pattern, using navy and mint Moda and Kaufmann cottons on a Kona white background.
Donated quilts will be given to an ALS patient, used to raise awareness, or used to raise funds for Lou Gehrig’s Disease/ALS research by being photographed, displayed, auctioned, or raffled.
The guild I belong to hopes to break last year’s contribution of over 65 quilts!
Counting my blessings. Have a good week! – – Joanne
Well, that’s it. Party’s over. For many students in the States, it’s back to school (ummm, we started back two weeks ago). It still feels like summer and it’s a beautiful day to photograph a gift to my friends! This is the first quilt I’ve made that I am giving to someone outside my immediate family. No pressure! 😉
My dear friends are blending their families when they get married in September. I thought long and hard for the right design, feel and color. I wanted to give them something from my heart.
They live at the oceanfront with their four boys and two dogs. Michael Miller’s Indigo Ikat line reminds me of the water, while not appearing too girly.
I envision this new family snuggling together by the fire on winter nights as they watch a little TV wrapped in their family quilt.
I hope they enjoy it for years to come!
Have a good week! – – Joanne
We are ‘smack dab’ in the middle of summer, as Grandmother Lillian would say. It’s a hot and lazy time of year; best spent at the shore.
Lillian Mae, Bathing Beauty, c. 1980
The nearby Bay and Ocean were my inspiration for this quilted cabana-themed table runner.
Cabanas are not used in our locale, so I had to scour the internet for images. From what I gather, “cabaña” originates from Spain and means “a small cabin or tent-like structure used as a bath house, especially on a beach or by a swimming pool.”
Oh my goodness, we are such hillbillies. We just show up in our swimsuits, beach chair and blankets, drinks and snacks, sand buckets and shovels and have at it. Buuuut, if we did have a cabana, perhaps we wouldn’t cart home almost enough sand to fill a small sand box. 🙂
Have a good week! – – Joanne
